After Russia announced it would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry said the move would "create another wave of tension and destabilisation in Europe". In a statement on Sunday, the ministry also said it would call for further sanctions.
"These actions are dragging Belarus further into the war with Ukraine and a confrontation with the democratic world," the ministry said. "Belarus, which is increasingly losing its sovereignty, supports and aids Russian aggression, and gets integrated more and more closely into Russia's military plans, is an additional risk factor for the Baltic region."
The ministry stated that Lithuania would discuss with its partners how to respond to "these militaristic plans of the Russian and Belarusian regimes".
"As part of the response, Lithuania will call for new sanctions," it added.
Intimidation attempt
Russia is aiming to intimidate countries that support Ukraine by stationing nuclear weapons in Belarus, according to Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas.
“Russia is making new moves to provoke discontent among some Western politicians over support for Ukraine or to intimidate the countries that support Ukraine. Putin’s announcement about the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus by July also qualifies as such a move,” Anušauskas said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
He said there should be no reaction to the Russian plans.
|We should not be distracted by this, shouting 'what will happen now?'. The protection of NATO countries against the threat of nuclear weapons is ensured regardless of whether these weapons are deployed to the West of our borders Kaliningrad Region), to the east (Belarus), or the north (Leningrad Region)," the minister said.
Anušauskas said Washington was taking only moderate steps in response, as Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus "would not change any of America’s plans for nuclear deterrence".
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday that Moscow would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying that the United States has stored such weapons outside its borders.
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